


It only takes one night.

by LifeInWentworth



Category: Rush - Fandom
Genre: F/F, rush - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-25
Updated: 2013-09-23
Packaged: 2017-12-21 07:20:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/897470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LifeInWentworth/pseuds/LifeInWentworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She’d finally found a legit excuse to kiss Shannon. And besides, girls could do that kind of thing without it being a big deal, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Shannon woke up with the sun, with one of Stella’s hands draped over her shoulder, the other across her stomach. It was fucking cold out here, so she didn’t really mind. Plus girls could do that kind of thing without it being a big deal, but she was sure the boys would have a field day with it. She closed her eyes, trying to get a little more sleep; it was hard to sleep in a creepy bush setting with very little protection and not even a blanket, so she pulled Stella’s arm around her tighter and went back to sleep.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

“Back me up, Stella,” Shannon snapped at her, knowing it was because of Stella that the boys were giving her a hard time about being celibate for the last seven months. Stella closed her locker and walked over to Shannon, grabbing her face in her hands and kissing her firmly on the lips.

She’d finally found a legit excuse to kiss Shannon. And besides, girls could do that kind of thing without it being a big deal, right?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stella was kicking back after a long day at work, beer in hand in front of the tv. She settled on some gay drama she’d seen a thousand times before and opened another beer. She’d turned her phone off, she really needed a night to herself – falling asleep in front of the tv and drinking beer sounded pretty much perfect. Then there was a knock at the door. She sighed, so much for a perfect night to herself.

She opened the door. It was Shannon. Looking as cute as hell, of course. When did she not?  
“Hey, what’s up?”  
“Sorry to just turn up, I tried calling but it just went to your voicemail.”  
Stella nodded, “Yeah, right. Battery must be flat or something,” she lied.  
“I wanted to make sure you were okay. You left kind of quicky…and quietly. It’s not like you,” Shannon sounded concerned, “can I come in?”  
Stella let the door swing open, “Yeah, of course. Sorry, it’s kind of messy, I wasn’t exactly planning on socialising tonight,” she ignored the implied question of was she okay, and began picking up beer bottles on her way to the sofa. Shannon looked at the tv and couldn’t help but laugh.  
She pointed to the screen, “Seriously? Bit of a cliché isn’t it?”  
Stella laughed, turning the tv off, “Piss off. It’s got good storylines okay?”  
Shannon raised her eyebrows, still smiling, “Storylines. Sure Stell.”

For some reason, Stella didn’t mind too much when Shannon teased her, in fact, she almost liked it. Stella hadn’t liked Shannon much to begin with, but they had become friends over the months and she knew Shannon would be there to help in a heartbeat if she needed her. I mean she was here now, making sure she was okay. Stella just couldn’t figure out her feelings for her; she didn’t like falling for colleagues so she didn’t let herself. But sometimes, just sometimes Shannon would change into one of her super cute outfits after work and Stella would have to force herself not to stare or bite her lip. 

“Stella?” Shannon’s voice rang in her ears.  
“Sorry, what?” Stella had been lost in thought.  
“The others were worried too. We went out for drinks after, but you, well you weren’t answering your phone to any of us,” she had that hint of concern back in her voice.  
“Yeah, no I’m fine. It’s all a part of the job, right?” Stella sat on the sofa, throwing her feet up on the coffee table. She tried to act ‘fine’ and relaxed, but of course the days memories were flooding through her head. She reached for her beer.  
“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. Or hurt.” Shannon stepped over Stella’s legs and took a seat next to her.  
Stella nodded silently before breaking the silence, “Well, are you okay? How are the guys?”  
“We’re fine. You were in the middle of it.”  
Stella shrugged in silence, not breaking it this time, taking another sip of her beer.  
“Got one of those for me?”  
“Yeah, fridge, help yourself.”

Shannon went into the kitchen and helped herself to a beer from Stella’s fridge. She was worried about Stella, but she didn’t know what she expected. Stella was never one for talking about how she felt and all that deep stuff. But Shannon knew what it was like to be negotiating with someone, feel you were so close to getting them off that edge… and then being proven wrong; seeing them go over and knowing you couldn’t do anything about it. Nobody could pretend that didn’t hurt.

Shannon yawned, “I’ve probably had too many, can I crash here?” It wasn’t a lie; she was feeling a bit out of it, but it was also a good way to keep an eye on Stella. Everybody knew  
that it only took one night for someone to regress to bad habits, and everybody knew what Stella’s bad habits were.  
Stella nodded, “Yeah, of course,” she stood up, “you want another?”  
Shannon shook her head, “Nah… I’m good. Should you? We’ve got work in like eight hours.”  
“I’ll be fine,” Stella walked into the kitchen. It wasn’t more beer she wanted, but she grabbed one anyway. She didn’t always like the way alcohol made her feel; out of control and dizzy as fuck. That’s why she had coke, in her room. She just had to wait for Shannon to crash on the couch. She couldn’t decide if Shannon being here was a good or a bad thing.

 

Stella woke sweating and could feel the tears on her face. She wiped them away angrily and got out of bed, walking to the kitchen. She grabbed a glass of water, and tried to calm her breathing. She sculled the glass of water and slammed it on the counter with more force than she meant to. She put her hands behind her head as she headed back to her room.

Shannon squinted at the noise, she looked towards the kitchen in time to see Stella walk back into her room. She rubbed her eyes for a minute before standing up. She rested her hand on the bedroom door for a second before turning it.  
“Stell,”she didn’t even know what to say, not really. She grabbed Stella’s arm and pulled her away from the lines Stella had just cut up on her drawers, “Don’t do it.”  
Stella couldn’t raise her head to look Shannon in the eye, her jaw was clenched, tight but the tears were coming anyway. She tried so hard to fight them away but she was tired and her eyes were aching and even her jaw was getting sore from being clenched all the time. She crashed her head into Shannon’s chest and let the tears flow. She felt Shannon’s hand in her hair, pulling her close.  
“It’s okay, shh, it’s okay,” Shannon whispered into Stella’s hair. She could feel Stella shaking in her arms, and figured it was best to just let her get all the tears out.

Somehow, those limited words from Shannon did make Stella feel a bit better and the tears did stop, which Stella thought they never would, once she started. She pulled back from Shannon for a moment, wiping her eyes and trying to sort out her hair. She felt like a total mess.  
“Sorry,” she half mumbled, still not looking Shannon in the eye.  
“Hey, don’t apologise. But here,” Shannon stepped around her to the drawers, “let me get rid of this, okay?”  
Stella started, that was her last resort, her rescue, “I don’t…yeah, no, I,” she knew she should just let it go, “I need it.” She said without really thinking, but finally looking Shannon in the eye.  
Shannon’s eyebrows knitted on her forehead, “No you don’t Stell. You don’t need it, you’re stronger than that, and you’re stronger without it. You know that. I know you do.”  
Stella bit her lip, nodding silently.

When Shannon walked back into the room, Stella was leant over the drawers, tracing with her finger where each line of coke had been purposely placed. She put her face in her hands and swore.  
“You really need a new coping strategy. That stuff will ruin you if you let it, “ Shannon said seriously.  
Stella looked at her, lowering her hands, “I know. I do.”  
“I know you do, you just need to let someone help you.”  
Stella didn’t know what made her do it, maybe because she had hardly slept, or she was looking for a high of some kind, she moved closer to Shannon and placed a hand on her waist and the other on her face, before she planted her lips on Shannon’s, she felt the surprise and Shannon pulled back for a second, but then Stella felt Shannon’s hand on her jawline. 

That was all the permission she needed and she bit Shannon’s lower lip gently, opening her mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and then...

Shannon pulled away, “That wasn’t exactly what I meant by a new coping strategy, Stell.”  
Stella smiled, her hand still on Shannon’s neck and her teeth still biting her lip, “Sorry,” she whispered, trying to gauge what Shannon was thinking.  
Shannon hesitated, “Don’t be,” she said with a smile playing on her lips.  
Stella laughed in relief, “You’re so…” she trailed off.  
“So what?” Shannon asked, amused by Stella’s awkwardness.  
“Well, surprising, I guess. I mean, I just didn’t expect…”  
Shannon shrugged, “Seriously, I’ve kissed chicks before, I’m not a prude – “  
Stella snorted, “Well you did do that whole celibacy thing for like nine months.”  
Shannon laughed, moving closer to Stella, “Well I’m not celibate now, am I?” she murmured, fixing her eyes on Stella’s as she placed her hand on Stella’s arm, pulling her so close she could only see the brunette’s eyes. She initiated the kiss this time and let it go on longer than their first kiss. 

It was true, when she was younger, she had kissed women before, but it had never been serious. Just a bit of fun. And she’d certainly never looked at Stella that way…had she? She wasn’t blind, she knew Stella was attractive, but she also knew Stella could be trouble; she was a bit of a loose canon whereas Shannon was relatively settled. Stable. At least she liked to think so. Truth was, she was still searching for something that always seemed just out of her reach, and she didn’t even know what it was.

Stella pulled away first this time. She could feel her heart beating through her chest, yet at the same time could feel tiredness taking over her body. Alcohol and emotional upheaval always made her drowsy, but kissing cute girls was usually enough to keep her awake. She tried but couldn’t stifle a yawn.  
“Sorry, am I keeping you awake?” Shannon teased.  
Stella unconsciously rubbed her eyes, “No, no, I’m good.”  
“Bullshit. Go to bed Stell, it’s fine.”  
Stella nodded, “And in the morning? Do we just…pretend this didn’t happen? Chalk it up to a bad night?” she tried to sound suave, confident but there was something deeper in her tone.  
Shannon frowned, “I don’t know, Stell. We’ll talk about it in the morning, I guess. Light of day and all that.”  
Stella shrugged, “Sure,” she turned away and walked back to her room, leaving Shannon pondering things on the couch. 

Shannon stared at the ceiling. Sure, she’d always thought Stella was cute and she kind of wished she would just open up to her instead of playing the bad-girl, keep my emotions to myself kind of thing. But that was because she wanted to help her. Right? As a co-worker, a friend? It was true, Michael’s crush on Stella annoyed the hell out of her, but that wasn’t jealous, that was just because Michael was so bloody immature and Shannon could see he never had a chance with Stella. They just didn’t have the connection that Stella only ever seemed to have with girls. Sure her and Michael got along and they were best friends, but, on Stella’s part it was mostly platonic, except for when she needed to forget about something and she’d hook up with Michael because he was just… there. 

“Shannon?”  
She looked up, Stella was standing there, watching her with those big, dark eyes and that hard look on her otherwise baby-face. She had a bag of coke in her hand.  
“I had a stash… I didn’t want it …in my room. Could you…I just…” Stella couldn’t speak in full sentences, clenching her jaw, “If I leave it there I know I’ll take it,” she finished.  
Shannon got up and took the bag out of Stella’s hand, “I’ll get rid of it,” she slipped it into her pocket and raised her hand to Stella’s cheek. Stella tried to fight it, but closed her eyes in contentedness as Shannon pulled her into her chest.


End file.
